If you receive positive test results from your primary care physician or another entity outside of Tufts, please provide official documentation of your positive test result for our health providers. Please ensure the uploaded documentation specifies your name, date of birth, what type of test was performed, test result, and test date.

Individuals who test positive are removed from surveillance testing for 90 days following a positive test. At the end of 90 days, you will receive an email inviting you back into the testing protocol.

If you were coming to campus regularly at the time of your positive test or onset of symptoms, contact the Jumbo Health Center at jumbohealthcenter@marathon-health.com or 617-627-0467 so that a clinician can evaluate your individual circumstances and notify anyone at Tufts with whom you have had close contact; you may leave a voicemail with your name and contact number if it is off-hours. Your personal information will remain anonymous. 

More information about testing is available in the Testing at Tufts resource.

Even if you have received the vaccine, you will be expected to follow all current University public health safety protocols—including continuing to wear masks in public spaces, wearing appropriate PPE (goggle, N95s, etc.) in patient care settings, following social distancing guidelines, and practicing proper hand hygiene. In addition, you will continue in the mandatory routine weekly COVID-19 surveillance testing after you are vaccinated. It is not yet known whether the vaccine protects you from transmitting the virus to others (although you remain asymptomatic). In addition, the duration of immunity remains unknow in all populations.

The CDC defines close contact as someone who:

• Is within six feet for 15 minutes or more over the course of a 24-hour period, of a positive COVID-19 person/case, starting two days before the onset of illness and through illness state, OR
• Provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19, OR
• Had direct physical contact with (touched, hugged, or kissed) a positive COVID-19 person, OR
• Shared eating or drinking utensils with a positive COVID-19 person, OR
• Was sneezed or coughed on by a positive COVID-19 person, transmitting respiratory droplets to them.

If you want to report a situation involving a possible violation of university rules, you may notify your RA (if you live on-campus) or the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs for your school. You may also submit an anonymous report online through EthicsPoint or email the Office of Community Standards CommunityStandards@tufts.edu.

Tufts has student ambassadors who walk around the Medford/Somerville campus educating their peers and reinforcing positive behaviors that will help slow the spread of the virus, including mask wearing, physical distancing, and keeping gatherings to no more than 10 people. We know that the vast majority of Tufts students are following these guidelines for their own wellbeing as well as that of their community.

Tufts has developed the CampusKey test scheduling app to make it easier for students, faculty and staff to schedule their regular weekly or twice weekly tests. The app also enables the university to schedule the 18,800 required tests per week while balancing traffic flow and minimizing queuing at the testing centers.

Students who have completed their arrival testing and have been cleared from quarantine will receive an email inviting them to download and start using the app. Faculty and staff who have been identified by their school or division as needing to participate in routine/surveillance testing will receive an email letting them know about the frequency of their testing and providing instructions on how to download and use the app. Students should not download and use the app to schedule your tests until they have been cleared from arrival quarantine and are invited to do so.

Learn more about the CampusKey app here: https://access.tufts.edu/campuskey.

If you have trouble installing or using the app, please send an email describing the issue to CampusKey@tufts.edu. Due to the volume of testing, scheduling updates may not be done by email.

Deans’ offices and division leadership teams have identified which faculty and staff should be integrated into regular testing based on their individual responsibilities (including teaching, research, and student support work) in line with their units’ planning for the return to campus. Testing schedules, i.e., weekly or twice a week, are determined by the nature and frequency of their interaction with residential students and the general public in the course of their responsibilities at Tufts. Only faculty and staff who have been identified by their school or division leadership as needing to participate in surveillance testing will be able to register to use the CampusKey app to schedule their weekly or twice a week tests. If you have questions about why you were or were not added to the testing program, please contact your supervisor, or your department, division or school leadership.

All students who choose to take classes on campus this fall will be regularly screened and tested. Students who are studying remotely and living off-campus in Medford or Somerville have the option of participating in the testing program. The frequency of the routine/surveillance tests is based on where the students live (on- or off-campus) and how they are taking classes (in-person or remotely).

To learn more about testing at Tufts, visit https://coronavirus.tufts.edu/testing-at-tufts.

Any person with a positive test for COVID-19 OR symptoms of COVID-19, including early or mild symptoms, must remain in isolation (i.e., stay away from others) until:

• At least 10 days (minimum) have passed from the date of the positive test
  AND
• No fever (i.e., no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers) for at least 24 hours
  AND
• Any symptoms (e.g., shortness of breath) have improved
  AND
• At least 10 days have passed since symptom onset (Note: This means that people with symptoms may be required to quarantine for longer than the minimum 10 days if they have no symptoms on the date of testing but develop symptoms after.)
• Your health-care provider has advised that it is safe to leave isolation.

Following CDC recommendations, face masks are required for those on all campuses at Tufts.

Face masks or face coverings must be worn by all staff working on campus when in the presence of others and in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g. common work-spaces, meeting rooms, classrooms, etc.).

For more information about the use and care of face coverings, please refer to the Return to Campus guide.

Face masks or face coverings must be worn by all students, faculty, staff and visitors in the presence of others when on campus, in common workspaces, meeting rooms, classrooms, dormitories, dining facilities and other shared spaces. The only exception to this is when an individual is alone in an office, in your own dormitory bedroom or greater than 6 feet from anyone else when outside.

The City of Somerville requires face masks be worn whenever anyone is in any public space—indoors or outside—regardless of the person's ability to socially distance; non-compliance is subject to a $300 fine by the city. A similar order exists in the City of Medford, but violators are not subject to a fine. Tufts University police officers will take notice of anyone not following these orders on campus.

Individuals who believe it is unsafe to wear a mask or face covering due to a medical condition or disability, or other protected reason should consult with their supervisor, HR business partner or dean's office. A good option for the hearing impaired who rely on lip reading and facial queues: https://www.theclearmask.com/.

Disposable masks will be provided by Tufts in all of its buildings for use by students and employees.

Cloth face coverings may also be worn, but will not be provided by the university. Cloth face coverings should only be worn for one day at a time, and must be properly laundered before use again. The fabric design or pattern for cloth face coverings should be appropriate for the workplace and classroom. See the CDC's guidelines on the use of cloth face coverings.

Tufts University is partnering with the Broad Institute to administer routine and exposure/symptom-based testing of students, faculty, and student-facing staff for the COVID-19 virus. When they receive a positive test result, Broad will contact the local board of health and Tufts Health Service to notify students or Marathon Health to notify faculty and staff who have tested positive. 

This will also initiate the contact tracing process with Marathon Health. Marathon Health will record the date of symptom onset and gather a list of close contacts within the Tufts community starting 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms. Marathon Health will then notify all close Tufts contacts.

More information about contact tracing is available in the Testing at Tufts resource.

Yes, prior to arriving on campus each workday, faculty and staff, including postdoctoral scholars and doctoral students, must complete a Daily Health Screening Survey to attest that they are not experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 or have recently come into contact with someone who is confirmed to have COVID-19. Upon completing the survey, individuals will immediately receive an email confirming whether they can come to campus. Those approved to come to campus may be required to show the email to a school administrator, supervisor or building security guard upon arrival. The survey can be accessed via:

• this form
• the Tufts mobile app
• the Healthy @ Tufts portal (Daily Healthy Status Survey)

You cannot opt out of the contact tracing program. The program is essential to control the spread of the virus. You will not be identified during the process in which those individuals with whom you have had close contact are notified about their having had close contact with someone who has tested positive. Your medical information will be held in confidence in accordance with HIPAA regulations and best practices. More information about contact tracing is available in the Testing at Tufts resource.